BLS for Healthcare Providers

Once in a while, we embark on something totally outside our comfort zone. So today I am summarizing my revision for my CPR certification tomorrow. Of course as a hospital administrator, I fully subscribe to getting as many people CPR trained as possible (in theory of course!). Click here's if you want to know more on what I'm talking about.

Things I need to remember for the course tomorrow!

CPR for Adults

• Check for response, call for help if no response
• Airway - open airways and check breathing, perform head tilt-chin lift, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-mask- Breathing - if not breathing, give 2 breaths, check chest rise (2x)
• Circulation - Check pulse
• Defibrillation - if no pulse, give compression (30 compression and 2 breath @ 100 compression/min). Continue cycle until AED or EMT arrives

CPR for Children (1 year of age to puberty)
Same for adult except for

• Amount of air for breaths
• More effort to deliver 2 breaths to make chest rise
• Depth of compressions
• Use 1-handed chest compressions for very small children
• 15 compressions and 2 breath for 2-rescuer Child CPR

Automated External Defibrillator

• Use AED when there's no response, no breathing, and no pulse
• Use Adult pads if child pads are not available
• One pad placed just below victim's right collarbone
• One pad placed to the left of the nipple, a few inches below the left arm pit

CPR for Infants

• Use two fingers
• Compression point just below the imaginary line between the nipples
• Compression depth is 1/3 to ½ the depth of the chest
• Check brachial artery pulse instead of carotid pulse

Adult Chain of Survival

• Early access
• Early CPR
• Early defibrillation
• Early advanced care

Pediatric Chain of Survival

• Prevention of arrest
• Early and effective bystander CPR
• Rapid activation of the EMS
• Early and effective advanced life support

Ok! Good luck to me for the exam!

Reference: BLS for Heatlhcare Providers Student Manual, American Heart Association. www.americanheart.org